Genzyme and Osiris partner on stem-cell program

piggy submitted, created time 2 months 3 days (www.boston.com)

Genzyme Corp. and Osiris Therapeutics Inc. said today they will partner to develop and commercialize adult stem cell products with the potential to treat a variety of diseases.

In a press release describing the agreement, Genzyme of Cambridge said it will make a $130 million up-front payment to Maryland-based Osiris, with $75 million paid initially and $55 million to be paid on July 1, 2009. In addition, Osiris also has the potential to receive a total of up to $1.25 billion in milestone payments from Genzyme

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Stem Cells and Early Lineage Development

davidd submitted, created time 10 months 1 week (www.cell.com)

The recent derivation of pluripotent stem cell lines from a number of different sources, including reprogrammed adult somatic cells, raises the issue of the developmental equivalence of these different pluripotent states. At least two different states representing the epiblast progenitors in the blastocyst and the pluripotent progenitors of the later gastrulating embryo have been recognized. Understanding the initial developmental status of the different pluripotent lines is critical for defining starting conditions for differentiation toward therapeutically relevant cell types.

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